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Magnolia Bakery’s Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake

I love Magnolia Bakery’s Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake because of its simplicity. You don’t need a lot of ingredients or time to make something decadent. Layers of chocolate wafers softened by fresh whipped cream make an impressively humble dessert.

This post for Magnolia Bakery’s Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake was first published August 14, 2014. I’m republishing it today to include my own original photos. My photography skillzz were still in development back then. Heck, they are still in development today! But I’m much better off now, nine months later.

So here’s the rest of the original post, some minor edits included (or excluded):

I’m an icebox cake freak. There. I said it. And I blame Magnolia Bakery’s Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake for bringing out that freak in me.

I love icebox cakes because the Type A in me can savor one slice over a whole hour as I skim off layer by layer. Gently licking thick whipped cream off my fork than munching on crispy bits of sugary cookie. Right now, I hereby promise to make more icebox cakes to eat myself and to share with you, starting with this Gingersnap Icebox Cake.

I love Magnolia Bakery’s Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake in particular because of its simplicity. You don’t need a whole lot of time or a whole lot of ingredients to make something decadent.

You do, however, need steady hands. And two eyes to watch where you’re going. And a smart head to know what you’re doing. Or else this happens:

My camera took a nose dive into the perfect cake. At the VERY LAST SECOND, of course.

This Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake recipe belongs to the famous Magnolia Bakery. It’s one of my top two desserts in New York City. (The other one is Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Chip Cookies.) It just so happens I’ll be visiting NYC this weekend and even though I just ate ridiculous amounts of Icebox Cake (for the sake of the blog, of course), it’s very likely I’ll treat myself to another slice very, very soon.

Magnolia Bakery's Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake

I love Magnolia Bakery's Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake because of its simplicity. You don't need a lot of ingredients or time to make something decadent. Layers of chocolate wafers softened by fresh whipped cream make an impressively humble dessert.

Course
Dessert

Prep Time20minutes

Total Time20minutes

Servings8slices

Calories470kcal

Ingredients

3cupsheavy cream

3tablespoonssugar

1tablespoonvanilla extract

2packages Nabisco chocolate wafers9 ounces

unsweetened cocoa powderoptional

Instructions

In a large bowl, beat cream, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. On a flat serving plate, spread a thin layer of whipped cream to hold the bottom layer of cookies in place. Arrange 7 cookies side by side in a circle, keeping 1 cookie in the center.

Spread about 2/3 cup whipped cream on top of the cookie layer, making a 7-inch circle. Repeat with remaining cookies and cream, making 11 or 12 layers of cookies and ending with a layer of cream (there will be a few cookies left over). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

If desired. Dust top lightly with cocoa powder before serving.

What I liked

It fulfills my obsessive-compulsive eating desires all while being simple and delicious.

Comments

I recently started making this icebox cake for a few celebrations. It’s very popular and sometimes hard to find those chocolate wafers but there are other types of thin cookies that work well and lots of very creative ways to “build” the cake. I’ve found that adding 1 tablespoon of instant vanilla pudding per 1 1/2 cups heavy cream will stabilize it.

Hi Patricia! Very interesting about the pudding! And yes – the wafers can be hard to find. Harris Teeter if you have one! However, there are a handful of new brands offering “Cookie Thins” and I think those would work well too! So glad you love it. My FAVE dessert ever. 🙂 PS. Try the whipped cream with some peppermint extract for the holidays!

Oh Danielle you are going to get a good laugh out of this! I read the recipe for Magnolia’s Chocolate wafer cake and I thought oh this is perfect! My son in law loves chocolate and homemade whipped cream so I quickly got all the ingredients and started making the cake. I decided to use 8 cookies instead of 7 since I was feeding alot and I was using the Oreo this which are a little smaller. Everything was going great until the last layer and I thought everything seems to be slipping!!!i tried to push it back together and it was just flattening out! I quickly wrapped it with Satan wrap and popped it in the fridge. As I was cleaning up I was trying to think what I had done wrong…I only bought 2 cups of whipping cream but I used a little cool whip on the bottom to make up the difference and then I thought oh! I didn’t adjust the sugar with the 2 cups. I still used the full 2/3 cup. Then I checked the recipe again and realized it was supposed to be 3 TABLESPOONS of sugar!!! Oh well we will just lick it off the plate tomorrow…it tasted good when I was licking the bowl!!! It may not be the prettiest but it was the thought that counts, right?! Happy Father’s Day!😝😘🤓 I’ll send you a picture! 🙈

My mom made this for my father in the 1960s and all the time I was growing up it was a favorite dessert. There’s no way tha This was introduced in 2014. The recipe has bee on the container of those cookies since before I was born.

I’m sure you’re right, Nina! I was eating this at Magnolia Bakery in 2006, so it’s at LEAST that old. 🙂 In truth, icebox cakes are a very old-fashioned, tried and true dessert and this one is my absolute favorite!

This recipe has been around since mid 1920’s. I do like the circular cake style that Magnolia Bakery has created but the cake itself is on the side of the box, like it always has been. I also asked my Kroger manager to please bring them back in stock. For some reason they are usually by ice cream sundae toppings, not the cookies.
“The National Biscuit Company (Nabisco, get it?) started selling wafer cookies in 1924, packaging chocolate with ginger and sugar. They soon switched to all chocolate. In a 1929 ad, Nabisco introduced the idea of layering the wafers with whipped cream. A year later, the recipe was printed on each tin of wafer. Yes, the wafers once came in a tin, which makes me wonder who was the first enterprising cook to tuck the stacks back into that tin to form an icebox cake roll. No matter who was first, you should be next.”

[…] Gingersnap Icebox Cake is a little twist on my all-time fave dessert: Magnolia Bakery’s Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake. For all occasions, I sit here and ponder, “How can I fit an icebox cake into this […]

[…] in the middle of binge-watching The Great British Baking Show and all I can think about is Magnolia Bakery’s Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake, which makes absolutely no sense since that is a decidedly un-British dessert. Nor is it baked. […]

[…] [2] The cake evolved into the classic Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer Ice Box Cake, a tall affair that was impressive to look at, but not so neat to cut (here’s the recipe from The Very Kitchen). […]

[…] [2] The cake evolved into the classic Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer Ice Box Cake, a tall affair that was impressive to look at, but not so neat to cut (here’s the recipe from The Very Kitchen). […]

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About Danielle

Danielle is a registered dietitian and the story teller behind The Every Kitchen. Three things that inspire her: Her parent's kitchen table, the way food nurtures relationships and nourishes souls, damn good chocolate chip cookies. EVERY KITCHEN has a story and Danielle shares them, one kitchen at a time. Read More…

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About Danielle

Danielle is a registered dietitian and the story teller behind The Every Kitchen. Three things that inspire her: Her parent's kitchen table, the way food nurtures relationships and nourishes souls, damn good chocolate chip cookies. EVERY KITCHEN has a story and Danielle shares them, one kitchen at a time. Read More…